Italy | Apulia
Fasano
Luxury Villas in Puglia – Masserie, Domes and Olive Groves Between Two Seas
In Puglia the oldest residents are not people. On the plain between Ostuni and Fasano, running down towards the Adriatic, stand olive trees that were already old when Rome was young: trunks twisted into columns and knots, some said to be a thousand years old and more. The villas of Puglia are built among them, and that is the first thing to know about the region. Everything here is slower than it looks.
Puglia is the heel of Italy's boot, a long, flat, sun-bleached land with the Adriatic on one side and the Ionian Sea on the other. In the narrow south you can breakfast beside one and watch the sunset from the other. Our luxury villas in Puglia sit in three very different parts of it. On the coast near Savelletri, Villa Amoruso and Villa Principessa, two restored masserie among the olive groves, a short drive from the sand. In the white hill country of the Valle d'Itria, Villa Cassalini, Villa Marinelli and Villa Vitale, a few minutes from Cisternino and Ostuni. And in Salento, near Lecce, La Quiete Verde, a historic estate for up to twenty-four guests.
Luxury Villas and Hotels in Puglia
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Italy | Apulia
Cisternino BR, Italien
Italy | Apulia
Cisternino
Italy | Apulia
Ostuni
Italy | Apulia
Novoli
Exploring Puglia
Savelletri and Fasano: sea, golf and the olive plain
South of Bari the Adriatic coast turns quiet. Savelletri is a small fishing harbour that has grown into a discreet seaside address, with sandy coves, a few beach clubs and the eighteen holes of the San Domenico golf course close by. Inland, between Fasano and Ostuni, spreads the plain of the great olive trees, and the archaeological park of Egnazia, a Messapian and Roman town beside the sea, is a short drive away. Villa Amoruso stands on a five-hectare estate of meadows, olive groves and gardens, with the sea just 300 metres away and a beach club a kilometre off that is open to villa guests; it has three bedrooms and a heated pool. Villa Principessa, a historic masseria on eight hectares of olive grove, has five bedrooms, a 200-square-metre L-shaped pool, a roof terrace for sunsets and the same beach-club access, 1.5 kilometres from the coast.
The Valle d'Itria: white towns, domes and trulli
Inland the land lifts into low hills and the towns turn white. Ostuni, the White City, climbs a hill above the olive plain in a tumble of whitewashed lanes. Cisternino is smaller and livelier at dusk, famous for its butchers, who grill the meat you choose in a wood-fired oven (the fornello pronto). Locorotondo is built in a perfect circle, Martina Franca is baroque, and Alberobello, with its cone-roofed trulli, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our three villas here stand in the countryside, a few minutes from Cisternino and Ostuni and twenty to thirty minutes from the Adriatic beaches. Villa Cassalini (five bedrooms) and Villa Marinelli (six) are contemporary houses of light sandstone with domed roofs, each made of two houses of the same design, with a heated saltwater pool and a wood-fired oven. Villa Vitale, a restored eighteenth-century farmhouse among centuries-old olive trees, sleeps twenty in nine bedrooms.
Salento: the baroque south
Further south the heel narrows towards Salento, where Lecce, the Florence of the South, glows in honey-coloured baroque stone, and the coast runs from the cliffs and caves of the Adriatic side, around Otranto and Santa Maria di Leuca, to the pale sand of the Ionian side, at Gallipoli and Pescoluse. La Quiete Verde, at Novoli in northern Salento, is a historic estate of more than five hectares run as a retreat: twelve suites for up to twenty-four guests, yoga spaces among the olive trees, a hammam and sensory showers, a games room, a seminar room, and cooking classes with produce from its own gardens. It is made for large families, celebrations and retreats.
The firstclass holidays Experience: More Than a Stay
A week in Puglia goes best when it has a rhythm: one day for somewhere, the next for nothing. We plan both.
We Start With Where You Want Lunch
Tell us what a good day looks like: a walk to the harbour and a long fish lunch, a morning in a white town and an afternoon by the pool, a day on the beach with the children. That decides the area: the coast near Savelletri for the sea within a short drive, the Valle d'Itria for the towns and the countryside, Salento for baroque Lecce and the far beaches. Then the house, and what to ask of it: how far from the sand, whether the pool is heated, where the shade falls at three o'clock.
A Masseria Is Not a Hotel With a Courtyard
Masserie are fortified farmhouses: thick walls, cool rooms, courtyards, sometimes a tower. The best have been restored with care, and some of ours stand on hectares of olive grove. They suit slow days and long tables rather than a walk to the beach. We tell you honestly which house is near the water and which is among the fields, and what the stone, the steps and the heat of August mean for your week.
Matera on Tuesday, Nothing on Wednesday
From the villas, a day out is easy: Alberobello's trulli, a morning in Monopoli, Lecce's baroque, or Matera's cave dwellings, about an hour and a half by road in Basilicata. We arrange the driver, the early start and the table, and we leave the day after empty: a chef at the villa, bicycles, a book.
Discover the True Essence of Puglia
Puglia Must-See
Evenings in Puglia
The Puglian Table
Orecchiette, burrata and the cucina povera
Orecchiette with turnip tops, burrata from the region's dairies, capocollo from Martina Franca, bombette grilled in Cisternino, focaccia from Bari. A cuisine of vegetables, bread and very good oil.
Fish from two seas
Raw seafood on the Adriatic coast, grilled fish and octopus, sea urchins in season.
Wine and oil
Primitivo, Negroamaro and the white wines of Locorotondo; Puglia produces a large share of Italy's olive oil. Tastings at small producers are easy to arrange.
A chef at the villa
A private chef cooking in the garden or the wood-fired oven is the easiest way to eat as the locals do. We arrange one, and cooking classes too.
Shopping in Puglia
Ceramics and papier-mâché
Grottaglie is the region’s ceramics town. Its old potters’ quarter has turned out tiles, jugs and glazed tableware for centuries, and several workshops let you watch the wheel before you buy. Look for hand-painted plates and bowls, and for the pumo, a small bud-shaped good-luck charm that sits on Puglian balconies and shelves. Lecce is known for its papier-mâché (cartapesta), a centuries-old craft of figures, nativity scenes and masks made in small workshops in the old town. Buy from the maker where you can: pieces from small workshops are the ones worth carrying home.
Oil, wine and the larder
Olive oil from the producers around Ostuni and Fasano is what to bring back, and a visit to a mill, especially after the harvest in late autumn, is worth the detour. Add wine from the Primitivo and Negroamaro growers, taralli (the crisp ring biscuits, flavoured with fennel, chilli or onion), friselle, dried tomatoes, dried orecchiette and capocollo from Martina Franca. Most of it travels well, and many producers will vacuum-pack and ship. Olive-wood spoons and boards make a good last-minute gift. We can arrange a tasting if you like.
The Climate of Puglia and Best Travel Period
Puglia has a hot, dry Mediterranean summer and a mild winter. May, June, September and October are the best months: a warm sea, long days and fewer people. July and August are hot, often above 30°C, and busiest around Ferragosto on 15 August; a villa with a heated pool and shade makes the heat easy. April is fresh and green, and November to March is mild and quiet, though many places close. The sea is warm enough for swimming from June to October.
Arriving at Your Villa in Puglia
By air
Two airports serve the villas: Brindisi (BDS) and Bari (BRI), with flights from the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and many other European cities, many of them seasonal. From the US most guests connect through Rome, Milan or another hub. We arrange private transfers, and private flights through Firstclass Jets.
From the airport
From Brindisi, Savelletri, Cisternino and Ostuni are about forty-five minutes to an hour away, and La Quiete Verde about forty-five minutes. From Bari, Savelletri is about an hour, the Valle d'Itria one to one and a quarter hours, and Novoli about two hours.
On the ground
A car is the easiest way to explore. We arrange one, with or without a driver, through Firstclass Cars.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Puglia
Puglia or Apulia: is it the same place?
Yes. Puglia is the Italian name and the one most travellers use today; Apulia is the older English form, still found in some guidebooks. Both mean the same region, the heel of Italy's boot.
Which part of Puglia should we stay in?
The coast near Savelletri for the sea within a short drive, golf and sandy beach clubs. The Valle d'Itria, around Cisternino and Ostuni, for white hill towns, trulli and countryside, with the beaches twenty to thirty minutes away. Salento, near Lecce, for baroque towns and the far beaches. Tell us how you picture a good day and we will suggest the area first, then the house.
Are the villas near the beach?
It depends on the house. Villa Amoruso is about 300 metres from the sea, with a beach club a kilometre away, and Villa Principessa about 1.5 kilometres, with beach-club access. In the Valle d'Itria and Salento the beaches are twenty to thirty minutes by car, and the houses are about the pool, the garden and the countryside. We tell you exactly how far before you book.
What is the difference between a masseria, a trullo and a villa?
A masseria is a fortified farmhouse of thick stone walls, courtyards and often a tower, usually restored. A trullo is a small cone-roofed dry-stone house, typical of the Valle d'Itria. A villa is a modern or contemporary house. Villa Amoruso and Villa Principessa are masserie, Villa Vitale is a restored eighteenth-century farmhouse, and Villa Cassalini and Villa Marinelli are contemporary houses with domed roofs.
Which airport should we fly into, and how long is the transfer?
Brindisi (BDS) or Bari (BRI). From Brindisi, Savelletri, Cisternino and Ostuni are about forty-five minutes to an hour away; from Bari, Savelletri is about an hour and the Valle d'Itria one to one and a quarter hours. La Quiete Verde is about forty-five minutes from Brindisi. We arrange private transfers, and private jets through Firstclass Jets.
Do we need a car?
Yes, in most cases. The villas are in the countryside, and the towns, beaches and restaurants are a short drive away. We arrange a car, with or without a driver, through Firstclass Cars.
Are the pools heated?
Several of our villas have heated pools, including Villa Amoruso and the heated saltwater pools at Villa Cassalini and Villa Marinelli, which makes May and October comfortable. We tell you which houses have heating, and whether it is included, before you book.
Is Puglia good for large groups and celebrations?
Very much so. Villa Vitale sleeps twenty in nine bedrooms and La Quiete Verde twenty-four in twelve suites, with a seminar room and yoga spaces for retreats. For weddings and celebrations, tell us early: permissions, noise rules and guest numbers differ from house to house. We coordinate catering, music and transport.
Is Puglia suitable for families?
Yes. The Adriatic beaches are sandy and shallow in places, the food suits children, and the villas have gardens and pools; the saltwater pool at Villa Cassalini is no deeper than 1.4 metres. For small children, ask us about fencing and the distance to the beach.
Can we visit Matera from Puglia?
Yes, as a long day trip: about an hour and a half by road from the Valle d'Itria. We recommend a driver, an early start and lunch in the Sassi. Alberobello, Lecce and Polignano a Mare are closer.
Can you arrange a private chef, a cooking class or a wine tasting?
Yes. A private chef cooking in the garden or the wood-fired oven, cooking classes, and visits to small olive-oil mills and wine producers around Ostuni and in Salento. At La Quiete Verde, cooking classes at The Odd Factory use produce from the estate's own gardens.
When is the best time to visit Puglia?
May, June, September and October: warm, sunny and quieter, with the sea warm enough for swimming from June. July and August are hot, often above 30°C, and busiest around 15 August. A villa with a heated pool and shade makes the heat easy, and the winter is mild but quiet.
How far in advance should we book, and is there a minimum stay?
For July and August, six to nine months ahead, and for our largest houses at any time. For the shoulder seasons, three to four months. In high season most villas are let by the week; outside it, shorter stays are often possible.